HELP! My Prius shrunk!!!!

Discussion in 'Honda/Acura Hybrids and EVs' started by TheForce, Jul 25, 2010.

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  1. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    OK this is what happened. Friday I went out to my garage and instead of finding my Prius.......


    [​IMG]



    I found this.........
    [​IMG]


    Looks like my Prius shrunk to a Two seater. :mad: :D






    Actually I bought myself a 2000 Honda Insight. Has 126K miles and I got it for $5700. After getting it home I found it gave a P1449 code which means it needs a hybrid battery. It also has some chipped paint and scratches other than that it still runs good.

    Personally I knew that I was buying a car that may need some fixing up and a rebuilt battery is only going to cost about $1200. I dont mind because the car can still be driven like a normal non hybrid and I still think I got a pretty good deal for it being a rare high MPG car.

    I still have and will keep my Prius. :D

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 TheForce, Jul 25, 2010
  2. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    HOLY COW! Congrats, man!
    I have to admit that the Gen1 Insight really grew on me the more I got to know it.

    Good for you!
     
    #2 TonyPSchaefer, Jul 25, 2010
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Any chance you'd make it your second PHEV?? If you've gotta put a battery in it anyway, why not??
     
    #3 efusco, Jul 25, 2010
  4. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I think I will turn it into a PHEV but I just dont know yet. It just depends on what options are out there and how well they work. I know the Enginer system will work but I have not seen much about it in the Insight. I'll have to send an email off to Eric and see how he likes his setup.
     
    #4 TheForce, Jul 25, 2010
  5. RyanA

    RyanA New Member

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    Nice find. I love my '01 Insight...
     
    #5 RyanA, Jul 25, 2010
  6. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    By any chance, do you like red cars? :D
     
    #6 usbseawolf2000, Jul 25, 2010
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  7. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    It was either going to be red or blue and I could not find a blue.
     
    #7 TheForce, Jul 25, 2010
  8. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Which does it have ... stick? ... or hsd.
    At least you won't have to custom mod skirts for it.
    :p
    that black trim on the honda would look might nice on the Gen II, too.
    ;)
    .
     
    #8 hill, Jul 25, 2010
  9. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Its a manual. I'm still have trouble getting out of first gear. Guess it just take time to learn.
     
    #9 TheForce, Jul 25, 2010
  10. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    What is that line of black circles on the chin of the Prius?
     
    #10 kenmce, Jul 26, 2010
  11. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    That is a cover for the lower grill. The circles are holes cut into the cover. Depending on the ambient temperature, he can plug some or all of the holes for a partial or complete grill block.
     
    #11 TonyPSchaefer, Jul 26, 2010
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  12. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    The Ambiguously Insight Duo

    The Insight even with MIMA will never be a PHEV like the Prius.

    The Prius will never be as great a fuel efficient highway machine as the Insight.

    With MIMA, EV mode is possible, but you want to add batteries to the small OEM pack. Even so, the ICE is turning....many of us Honda guys wish there was a second clutch so the IMA motor could run in EV mode without having to turn the gas engine. I wonder if it's more accurate to call this a really great mixed-mode hybrid.

    Peter in the UK has replaced the NiMH batteries in his battery pack with lithium cells - 5x the power > Phev Insight - Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum

    P1449 means at least one cell on the Insight battery pack is overheated...the hybrid system is disabled to prevent an engine fire...these cell(s) will need replacing. P1447 is an unbalanced cell and can be repaired. The same thing can happen to a Prius I since they use similar NiMH D Cells.

    Jay, until you get the hang of it, I'd upshift every 9-10 mph. Actually you can do 5th at 35. Main thing is fully depress the clutch when shifting.
     
    #12 Chuck., Jul 27, 2010
  13. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    Does anyone have a picture like this for the Prius? I'd love to see it!

    [​IMG]

    BCM - regulates the Insight SoC
    MCM - gets the motor and ICE to work together to Assist or charge batteries, depending on SoC
    MDM - Generates more heat than the batteries - that's why it has a heat sink and a black tube to vent heat out.

    The 12v battery powers all of this - the battery pack is normally for propulsion only. Disconnect the 12v and memory of SoC is lost and Honda does a recal.

    The battery pack is only 20 sticks with 6 D Cells each, but has more ampage than the average house. :eek:
     
    #13 Chuck., Jul 27, 2010
  14. FireEngineer

    FireEngineer Active Member

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    Jay, maybe Chuck can answer this, but I believe Honda has been very good about replacing the pack and battery computer for failed Gen I Insights regardless of milage.

    Wayne
     
    #14 FireEngineer, Jul 27, 2010
  15. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    Jay's Insight was purchased in Feb 2001, and has less than 150,000 miles so they should honor it.
     
    #15 Chuck., Jul 27, 2010
  16. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I have an appointment Friday so they can pull the P1449 code and hopefully get me a new battery soon.
     
    #16 TheForce, Jul 27, 2010
  17. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well I just got back from my local Honda dealer and I got some good news.

    First off they wont replace the MCM under warranty because of this updated service bulletin.

    Service bulletin 04-028 updated april 30, 2010
    http://stuff.jaygroh.com/insight/04-028.pdf

    Now I could have argued with them about that and got the MCM replaced but from what I understand there is nothing wrong with my current BCM and MCM its just that the new ones more aggressively protect the battery. I'm not worried about protecting the battery with the new computers because I only have about 5 months left on the battery anyway if I get it replaced.

    Here is the good news. I asked them if they would just replace the battery and they said they would.

    So now I'm just waiting for them to get the battery and schedule an appointment to get it installed.
     
    #17 TheForce, Aug 2, 2010
  18. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Got the battery replaced today. On the way there I got 72.5MPG. Thats without the battery and I dont know how to drive a stick. :)

    On the way back I was only able to get about 63MPG. Mainly because I did not know how the auto stop function and stalled the car a few times.

    Anyway I made it back home with a full battery and a full tank of gas. Now I just have to lean to drive it. Then learn how to hypermile it.
     
    #18 TheForce, Aug 19, 2010
  19. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Jay,
    I missed this thread. Congrats on the Insight.
    I'd be happy to talk with you about MIMA.
    I also know someone that is selling some Enginer PHEV parts for cheap.
     
    #19 ericbecky, Sep 2, 2010
  20. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Thanks.

    I've been reading a lot about MIMA. I just hope I can come up with the money to buy a complete kit before they are all gone.

    I dont think I will be turning this Insight into a PHEV. I think I have decided to try to find another cheap MT Insight and convert it into an EV like Jack Rickard is doing with the Speedster kit cars. Since he said Curtis has a 650A 144V controller on the drawing board for next year I think that a 144V 650A controller would make the Insight a really peppy EV.
     
    #20 TheForce, Sep 2, 2010
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